I-35 bridge collapes, in Minneapolis Options

[jwttu]

So the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis collapsed during rush hour. They said on the news that there were probably 50-100 cars fell into the Mississippi river.

I guess this makes my 2hr commute today not seem so bad

[GOB]

it's the only bridge out of town

[schwab]

ok, so yeah a bridge collapsed and 7 or so people died

the news is making it out to be a great disaster....it is just a bridge that collapsed

[Divergent Realit...]

ok, so yeah a bridge collapsed and 7 or so people died

the news is making it out to be a great disaster....it is just a bridge that collapsed

but

but

the people

tragic news

and i bet some kitties died too

and all the broken cars

does no one care for them?

[TetraGrammaton C...]

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2007/0...e.side.view.cnn

terrorism!

cell phone detonator

[Divergent Realit...]

it was probably just a cell phone strapped to a block of cheese that tricked the bridge into collapsing.

[cupcake]

ok...so this is sad right? I mean people on their commute minding their own business and all...

but it's "an act of god" type incident. some weird shit happens that is filed under "an act of god" and it's just the way the world works. shit like huge mudslides and whatnot...

but the media in all their glory is making this out to be as disasterous and tragic as 9/11. the fuck ever man...I only WISH 9/11 was this fresh on everyone's minds...

[impala454]

they'll blame the engineers, concrete manufacturers, contractors, etc.

or

if they find it was a bomb...















they'll blame the engineers, concrete manufacturers, contractors, etc, for not building a bomb proof bridge.

[pysex]

i fucking hate cnn for making me think 700 people died in this accident by telling me it was a great disaster

[cupcake]

i fucking hate cnn for making me think 700 people died in this accident by telling me it was a great disaster

I know...I mean it sucks, but fuckin c'mon!

[impala454]

we'll be hearing about for the next few months unless something else happens. i'm sure bush will get blamed somehow too.

[schwab]

we'll be hearing about for the next few months unless something else happens. i'm sure bush will get blamed somehow too.

it was, he didnt approve enough money for highway improvements............duh

[schwab]

how the hell is it still breaking news

seriously, as of now its only 4 dead (i think the number was higher yesterday)

i rather watch something important.....

[Inferia]

such as... its been a slow news week.

I bet the bridge was made in China... no other explanation.

[Hartmann]

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2007/0...e.side.view.cnn

Video of the collapse...

I will say this, the infrastructure of this country has slowly been going down the pot over the last 30 years. The freeway system, the rail system, etc. all suffer from deteriorating conditions.

I think of it this way. In the 60's and 70's we were going to the moon, now we're struggling to put people in orbit.

[cupcake]

we're too busy building bridges in zimbabwe to spend those resources here...

[Inferia]

or too busy fighting a certain war...

[Hartmann]

or too busy fighting a certain war...

Road repairs and maintenance are funded by state governments, much like levees (hint, hint) so the funds don't come out of federal reserves.

[impala454]

I think of it this way. In the 60's and 70's we were going to the moon, now we're struggling to put people in orbit.

struggling to put people in orbit? while yes the moon missions were awesome accomplishments, we've accomplished far more here in orbit. we went from putting a tiny one seater with almost no cargo into orbit with a monkey, to putting a re-useable vehicle into orbit that can carry 25 tons of cargo. the shuttle has had 2 failures in 118 missions. The Apollo program had 2 failures in 12 missions. I don't see how the hell you could say we're "struggling to put people in orbit" and compare that to the 60s & 70s.

[Inferia]

Road repairs and maintenance are funded by state governments, much like levees (hint, hint) so the funds don't come out of federal reserves.

where as compared to fixing roads in zimbabwe is out of MN state funds...

[Hartmann]

struggling to put people in orbit? while yes the moon missions were awesome accomplishments, we've accomplished far more here in orbit. we went from putting a tiny one seater with almost no cargo into orbit with a monkey, to putting a re-useable vehicle into orbit that can carry 25 tons of cargo. the shuttle has had 2 failures in 118 missions. The Apollo program had 2 failures in 12 missions. I don't see how the hell you could say we're "struggling to put people in orbit" and compare that to the 60s & 70s.

Last I checked, the Shuttle was still using computers built in the 1980's... If another industry was to do the same thing they'd call them nuts. It costs more to put the Shuttle in orbit one time than it cost for a moon landing.

My point is the progress, or the lack their of. There are stretches of interstate that are in absolutely horrid conditions (I-35 between Austin and Dallas comes to mind).

[Hartmann]

where as compared to fixing roads in zimbabwe is out of MN state funds...

I didn't say anything to cupcake's post because it wasn't a blatant attempt to place blame on the administration of this country for this incident (which is what your comment did).

It is just amazing to me how many people immediately turn their attention to Bush on a few issues but don't want to give him any credit for the good things happening (*cough* economy *cough*)

[Inferia]

I didn't say anything to cupcake's post because it wasn't a blatant attempt to place blame on the administration of this country for this incident (which is what your comment did).

It is just amazing to me how many people immediately turn their attention to Bush on a few issues but don't want to give him any credit for the good things happening (*cough* economy *cough*)

I'm sorry, but I beg to differ.

[Hartmann]

I'm sorry, but I beg to differ.

Beg to differ about what? The economy?

Well, the unemployment has hovered around 4.6% one of the lowest numbers in the last 20 years (http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm). No one gives credit to Bush for that, even though he said he'd create jobs.

[GOB]

It is just amazing to me how many people immediately turn their attention to Bush on a few issues but don't want to give him any credit for the good things happening (*cough* economy *cough*)

agreed. especially when bitchy immigrant cunts are the ones doing it.

[Melanie]

I do believe that Interstate maintenance funds come from the Congress through appropriations. Don't mean to be arguing, but just a little FYI.

[impala454]

Last I checked, the Shuttle was still using computers built in the 1980's...

that's because it would cost them more to replace all of those systems than it would be worth.

If another industry was to do the same thing they'd call them nuts. It costs more to put the Shuttle in orbit one time than it cost for a moon landing.

that's because the shuttle can carry 25 tons of shit with it.

My point is the progress, or the lack their of. There are stretches of interstate that are in absolutely horrid conditions (I-35 between Austin and Dallas comes to mind).

So how does this relate to the space program?

step 1. gather underpants
step 2. ---
step 3. profit!

step 1. omg we dont go to the moon anymore, even though we've put hundreds of insanely important satellites into orbit and do regular study which has huge impacts on our lives.
step 2. ---
step 3. omg our roads suck

nobody was out talking about road conditions until this stupid incident. this is starting to sound as stupid as the people who wanted to jet-fuel-fire-proof every skyscraper in the country after 9/11.

[James]

I do believe that Interstate maintenance funds come from the Congress through appropriations. Don't mean to be arguing, but just a little FYI.

True story. Individual state DOTs engineer the roads and submit proposals to the federal DOT for funding.

[Melanie]

True story. Individual state DOTs engineer the roads and submit proposals to the federal DOT for funding.

mmhmm. I used to have to deal with angry constituents in Austin all the time about highways in District 118. Now I have to deal with angry constituents in San Antonio about highways in Congressional District 23. It's a whole bunch of BS. But fun none-the-less. I like the stories constituents call us about. Most people don't know what their municipal, state, and federal representatives are either there for or what services they can call for.

[Hartmann]

Yes, for new roads or extensions of the roads the federal government funds them but I thought maintenance (filling pot holes, safety barricades, etc.) was funded with state money.

[Melanie]

oh, and I just drove on 35 between Austin and Dallas... they're working on parts of it, but other than that, it's actually really nice.

[Melanie]

Yes, for new roads or extensions of the roads the federal government funds them but I thought maintenance (filling pot holes, safety barricades, etc.) was funded with state money.

Nope, completely Federal. They allocate the monies to gen. contracting companies to fix them, lowest bidder wins. My dad deals with them every September.

[Hartmann]

oh, and I just drove on 35 between Austin and Dallas... they're working on parts of it, but other than that, it's actually really nice.

Up near West, and a little south of there it's probably the most dangerous and rolling piece of highway out there. I drove it every other weekend last summer and hated it.

[Hartmann]

Nope, completely Federal. They allocate the monies to gen. contracting companies to fix them, lowest bidder wins. My dad deals with them every September.

So when TxDOT says they can't get money to fix things in Houston it's because the federal government won't give them cash?

Learn something new every day.

[Melanie]

So when TxDOT says they can't get money to fix things in Houston it's because the federal government won't give them cash?

Learn something new every day.

that's the state that won't give them cash

Up near West, and a little south of there it's probably the most dangerous and rolling piece of highway out there. I drove it every other weekend last summer and hated it.

I drove on it on Monday, seemed fine to me. *shrugs* Maybe it was way too early and way too little sleep for me to realize it was bad. I hadn't driven it in ages so I guess I can't give a good enough judgment on it, but it seemed fine.

[blaarg]

Last I checked, the Shuttle was still using computers built in the 1980's... If another industry was to do the same thing they'd call them nuts. It costs more to put the Shuttle in orbit one time than it cost for a moon landing.

Where do you find that they haven't replaced the systems on the shuttle since the 80s...?

[blaarg]

and another point about the "declining" space program...
didn't we put a unmanned rover on fucking Mars not a while back?

[Hartmann]

and another point about the "declining" space program...
didn't we put a unmanned rover on fucking Mars not a while back?

Yeah, we put two on Mars... One buried itself 30 ft. into the ground because someone programmed it wrong. Fantastic use of funds

[jwttu]

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2007/0...e.side.view.cnn

Video of the collapse...

I will say this, the infrastructure of this country has slowly been going down the pot over the last 30 years. The freeway system, the rail system, etc. all suffer from deteriorating conditions.

I think of it this way. In the 60's and 70's we were going to the moon, now we're struggling to put people in orbit.

the rail system (condition wise is actually pretty good), of course the condition depends on the Railroad company that owns it. They are also adding lots of new track along the transcon track to handle bigger loads. Most derailments are caused by HFI (human factor incidents) and not the physical condition of the track.

Heres some info on interstates

The federal government provides 80 percent of the money for construction, repair and maintenance of the so-called federal-aid highway system including Interstate highways and bridges. But states set priorities and handle construction and maintenance contracts

i know that us highways which are seperate from interstates have significantly less federal money. The you have all the state highways/farm roads/etc which are paid with with state money. Then county and city roads.

The main source of revenue for roads and bridges, the federal highway trust fund, is failing to keep up with spending demand. The 18.3 cents a gallon in federal taxes hasn't changed since 1993, and the demand for more fuel-efficient vehicles could affect fuel consumption.

And this is why things most likely won't change. With gas prices going up people will not want to increase the gas tax.

[Hartmann]

jwttu,

Thanks for the correction. I was reading the Washington Post this morning and they pointed out the money comes from the federal government and there is plenty of the money to go around... The problem is that the states decide how to spend it. (Katrina)

My whole point is that we are already politicizing this thing and it doesn't need to happen. It's a tragedy, yes. But let people mourn, I mean there are still people in the river and already we're playing the blame game... This makes us look more and more like Brazil with their airline troubles. Who can point the finger faster.

"It's Bush's fault! He hates black people and cars sitting on bridges!"

People are saying he's spending too much time thinking about the war and not enough about our infrastructure... Yeah, I think our infrastructure is getting worse but I doubt Bush sits in his office twiddling his thumbs, rocking back and forth, thinking about the war.

The bridge was found to be deficient in 1990 http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BRI...-08-02-15-31-57

And hasn't passed since.

Oh, and the Brooklyn Bridge recently failed its inspection... Guess I should stay off that one

[impala454]

Yeah, we put two on Mars... One buried itself 30 ft. into the ground because someone programmed it wrong. Fantastic use of funds

actually that's why they built two of them, completely independent of one another. for redundancy. it was only a bonus if both made it there, and the fact that the pathfinder operated for way longer than intended is a good testament to how well designed they were.

[impala454]

The bridge was found to be deficient in 1990 http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BRI...-08-02-15-31-57

right and 17 years later it collapses. there's way too much speculation and way too little fact. how about someone grab up these facts and post em:

What does it mean for a bridge to be declared "deficient"?

How many bridges in the US have been declared "deficient" in the past 20 years?

What is necessary to fix a "deficient" bridge?

Who's responsibility is it to fix a "deficient" bridge?

imho this story is so stupid. but unfortunately it seems to be the only damn thing anyone can talk about. i think we had more people murdered in houston in the past two days than died on that bridge.

[schwab]

right and 17 years later it collapses. there's way too much speculation and way too little fact. how about someone grab up these facts and post em:

What does it mean for a bridge to be declared "deficient"?

How many bridges in the US have been declared "deficient" in the past 20 years?

What is necessary to fix a "deficient" bridge?

Who's responsibility is it to fix a "deficient" bridge?

imho this story is so stupid. but unfortunately it seems to be the only damn thing anyone can talk about. i think we had more people murdered in houston in the past two days than died on that bridge.

i agree

[Hartmann]

right and 17 years later it collapses. there's way too much speculation and way too little fact. how about someone grab up these facts and post em:

What does it mean for a bridge to be declared "deficient"?

How many bridges in the US have been declared "deficient" in the past 20 years?

What is necessary to fix a "deficient" bridge?

Who's responsibility is it to fix a "deficient" bridge?

imho this story is so stupid. but unfortunately it seems to be the only damn thing anyone can talk about. i think we had more people murdered in houston in the past two days than died on that bridge.

I agree with this and is why I posted the above.

I don't even care about fact at this point... Why not let the people who still have family members trapped in cars have a little privacy and a little less of this "OMG we gotta blame somebody" b.s.

[impala454]

Why not let the people who still have family members trapped in cars have a little privacy and a little less of this "OMG we gotta blame somebody" b.s.

because politics follows the media

[GOB]

i blame global warming.


where is al gore when we need him?

[moebary]

i blame al gore

the bastard